Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a simplified diagram of the Internet. Generally speaking the Internet consists of Autonomous Systems (AS) which may be owned and operated by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as PSI, UUNET, MCI, SPRINT, etc. Three such AS/ISPs are shown in FIG. 1 at 10, 12 and 14. The Autonomous Systems (ASs) are linked by Inter-AS Connections 11, 13 and 15. Information Providers (IPs) 16 and 18, such as America Online (AOL) and Compuserve, are connected to the Internet via high speed lines 20 and 22, such as T1/T3 and the like. Information Providers generally do not have their own Internet based Autonomous Systems but have or use Dial-Up Networks such as SprintNet (X.25), DATAPAC and TYMNET.
By way of current illustration MCI is both an ISP and an IP, Sprint is an ISP, and MicroSoft (MSN) is an IP using UUNET as an ISP. Other information providers, such as universities, are indicated in exemplary fashion at 24 and are connected to the AS/ISPs via the same type connections here illustrated as T1 lines 26. Corporate Local Area Networks (LANs), such as those illustrated in 28 and 30, are connected through routers 32 and 34 and links shown as T1 lines 36 and 38. Laptop computers 40 and 42 are shown connected to the AS/ISPs via dial up links 44 and 46.
The Information Providers (IPs) constitute the end systems which collect and market the information through their own servers. Access providers are companies such as UUNET, PSI, MCI and SPRINT which carry the information. Such companies market the usage of their networks.
In simplified fashion the Internet may be viewed as a series of routers connected together with computers connected to the routers. In the addressing scheme of the Internet an address comprises four numbers separated by dots. An example would be 164.109.211.237. Each machine on the Internet has a unique number which constitutes one of these four numbers. In the address the leftmost number is the highest number. By analogy this would correspond to the ZIP code in a mailing address. At times the first two numbers constitute this portion of the address indicating a network or a locale. That network is connected to the last router in the transport path. In differentiating between two computers in the same destination network only the last number field changes. In such an example the next number field 211 identifies the destination router. When the packet bearing the destination address leaves the source router it examines the first two numbers in a matrix table to determine how many hops are the minimum to get to the destination. It then sends the packet to the next router as determined from that table and the procedure is repeated. Each router has a database table that finds the information automatically. This continues until the packet arrives at the destination computer. The separate packets that constitute a message may not travel the same path depending on traffic load. However they all reach the same destination and are assembled in their original order in a connectionless fashion. This is in contrast to connection oriented modes such as frame relay and ATM or voice.
FIG. 2 provides a simplified illustration of Internet connectivity.
The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 and 2 indicated at 14 and 10, respectively, each have Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers 52 and 54 that provide users with a temporary IP address to connect to the Internet. These ISPs also have Domain Name Service (DNS) servers 56 and 58 which provide HOST resolution addresses to the users, i.e., they translate domain names into IP addresses. This provides easier recognition based on domain name versus IP address. DNS servers point to each other for address resolution.
The residential consumer has an increasing requirement for bandwidth to the home to support access to interactive multi-media services including Internet access, Distance Learning, and remote access to corporate LANs for telecommuting. At present, the speed of access is limited by the speed of the modem connecting the home computer to the Data Information Provider or Corporate LAN over the public switched telephone network. These speeds range from 9.6 kbps to 28.8 kbps over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and increase to 128 kbps where ISDN access is used. The data modem uses the existing phone line into the home and phone calls cannot be made while the data modem is in operation. ISDN is deployed over a separate facility and provides for two 64 kbps channels that can be used for higher speed data access or for telephone service based on the CPE provided by the customer.
The Full Service Network (FSN) described in the common assignee's application Ser. No. 08/413,215 filed Mar. 23, 1995, and entitled Full Service Network Having Distributed Architecture, will support simultaneous voice, data and video on an integrated platform supporting data rates up to 6 Mbps. However, these systems are not currently available for widespread use. In addition the FSN may rely on remote terminals (ONUs) which must be located within 1000 feet of the subscriber and which may involve a cost which would deter usage in sparsely populated areas.
Cable companies have stated an intention to upgrade their networks with fiber to create smaller distribution areas and to create a two-way capability to support data and telephony services. Cable modems are predicted to be available in the future to provide high speed access over a bus architecture to Internet, cached WEB sites, and corporate LANS, using Hybrid Fiber Coax Architecture with interfaces to the public switched telephone network. The speed of the bus can be as high as 97 Mbps in the downstream direction and 10 Mbps in the upstream direction. Although this bandwidth will be shared it is reported to be able to provide a perceivable difference for the delivery of data services where the server is at the cable headend, or where the backbone network has been upgraded to support increased speed for interactive multimedia applications on the Internet or other Information Provider (IP) server locations.
It is an object of the present invention to expeditiously and economically satisfy the increasing bandwidth requirements of residential customers prior to FSN deployment and prior to the availability of the predicted cable services.